handbook of the origin of place-names in wales and monmouthshire

Rhigos. — It is spelt Regoes in ancient MSS. It may be a compound of grug, heath, and rhos, mountainmeadow. The physical aspect of the place suggests another derivation. Rhug, what has breaks or points;rhos, meadow; but we rather think it is a contraction of grugos, heath, heather; signifying a heathy place. Theplace is noted for its small batches of heath. English name — Heathham.Resolven. — Re, a corruption of rhiw, a slope, the brow of a hill; Solven, the name of the hill near which thevillage is situated. Solven may be a compound of siol, head, and maen a stone. Some think the name is acontraction of bre soften, which signifies the hill of stubble, but, viewing the physical aspect of the place, werather think it is a corruption of rhiw sylfan; rhiw, slope; sylfan, a place to gaze. English name — Hillview.Reynoldston. — So named in honour of Reginald de Breos, who was once the lord of the manor, and is saidto have been the founder of the church; Reginald, for the sake of euphony, being changed to Reynold.Rhondda. — In some old documents it is called Glyn Rhondda, Glyn Rhodneu, and by some English writersGlyn Rotheney, and Glyn Rothire. Some think Rhondda is a corruption of Yr Honddu; hoen, complexion, hue;ddu black. The valley received its name, probably, in 877, when Roderic the Great divided the Principalityinto three provinces, which were afterwards sub-divided into cantrevs and commots. English name —Blackvale.Sketty. — An Anglicized form probably of Is Ketti. Maen Ketti signifies the stone of the Arkite power. Theplace was called Is Ketti from its situation at the base of the hill where Maen Ketti stands. Is means below orunder. English name — Underhill.Skiwen. — A corruption of the Welsh Ysgawen, the elderwood, so called from the abundance of that wood inthe neighbourhood. English name — Elderwood.St. Ffagan. — The parish was named in honour of Ffazan, who is recorded to have founded a church here inthe second century.St. Bride. — Bride is probably a clipped form of Ffraid, the saint's name to whom the church was dedicated;hence the right name is St. Ffraid. According to Iolo Morganwg, the church was dedicated to St. Bride, thenun, the daughter of Dwpdagws, an Irish saint.St. Athan. — The church was built by Tathan, son of Amwn Ddu, in the sixth century, and, according to the "Welsh Chronicles," his remains were interred here.St. Donnatt's. — Donnatt is a modification of the Welsh Dunawd, the saint's name to whom the pristinechurch was probably dedicated. It was anciently called Llanwerydd, the church being dedicated to Gwerydd,a descendant of Bran the Blessed.St. Hilary. — Hilary is a modified form of Elari y the saint's name, to whom the church was dedicated.St. Nicholas. — The Welsh name is Llaneinydd, so called after Einydd, the son of Morgan the Courteous,who, it is said, built the church. Pope Nicholas Brekspere, according to Iolo Morganwg, lived in the vicinity inthe twelfth century, when probably the present name was given to the place.Sully. — Abersili is the Welsh name, from its situation at the mouth of the rivulet Silt, which means thehissing water. Sully is a corruption of Silt. English name — Hissmouth.Skerry. — From the Norse scar, a precipitous bank of earth, a cliff, as Scarborough and the Skerries. Englishname— Cliffham.Ton. — From a farmstead so named. Ton means unploughed land, a grassy plot of ground. English name —Plotham.Treherbert. — The name was bestowed on the place in 1851 by the Marquis of Bute in honour of Herbert, afavourite name in the Bute family. English name — Herbertston.Treorchy. — Orhy is probably a modification of the Welsh Gorchwy, the name of the rivulet on which thispopulous place is situated. Gorch-wy signifies encompassing or overflowing water; or, perhaps, the root isorch, a limit, a border. English name — Borderton.Origin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 69